• Adah discovers that she has a dream when she is about eight years old, though she does not know the exact age because her family did not record her birth date because they were preoccupied with the disappointing fact that she was not a boy. All she remembers is that she was born sometime during the Second World War. 

• She thinks she is eight when Adah’s Ma and other women from Ibuza who live in Lagos are preparing to welcome Nweze, Ibuza’s first lawyer, who is just returning after his sojourn abroad to study Law. 
• Adults from Ibuza do not like Lagos because the Law runs supreme there and did not allow them the freedom to vent their anger on their enemies. Meanwhile, people around Adah talk about the UK like it is sacred and the lawyer, Nweze, like he is a “Messiah” who will defend Ibuza. 
• Adah’s Ma makes outfits for the women planning to celebrate the lawyer. She uses the remnants of the material for the outfit to sew a dress for Adah.  Excited, Adah hopes to go celebrate the lawyer’s homecoming too, but she realises she cannot go because she has to go to school. 
• Igbo people take education seriously as a path out of material hardship. Igbo families make their children attend school, though boys tend to get more schooling than girls. 
• In a flashback, Adah’s younger brother, Boy, is allowed to attend school but she is not. Her mother thinks that Adah will only need to learn to count and write her name and then she will learn to sew. 
• One day, bored at home, Adah decides to sneak off to school. She chooses the inexpensive Methodist school where her family’s neighbour, Mr Cole, works. Mr Cole welcomes her into the classroom. 
• After school ends, Mr Cole tells Adah that she needs to return home and that if her parents do not want her coming to school, he will teach her himself. Mr Cole walks Adah home, she discovers that someone has called the police on Ma for “child neglect”.
• The family goes to the police station, where the police force Ma to drink garri. Then, one policeman tells Ma to let Adah go to school because she seems to want to learn. 
• Back at home, Adah’s Pa flogs her with a cane Afterwards, he “came and talked to her seriously just as if she were a grown up!” (p. 14) He calls her by her pet name “Nnenna” which means “father’s mother”. The truth is that Pa’s mother promised she would return to him as his daughter. When Pa saw his mother in Adah, the lady was ‘loaded’ with names like “Nnenna”, “Adah nna” (father’s mother) and Adah Eze (daughter of a king). Pa then starts sending Adah to Boy’s fancy school called “Ladi”Lak”. 
• In the present, the women of Ibuza practise songs with which to welcome the lawyer and showed off their uniforms. The women, who are ignorant of “the so-called joys of civilisation” (pg. 15) like monthly payments and pollution, go in their uniform to the wharf to celebrate the lawyer. The Europeans arriving on the same boat as the lawyer are fascinated at the women and takes pictures of them.
• The next Sunday, the Ibuza men have a meal with Lawyer Nweze to celebrate his return. Pa is disgusted at Lawyer Nweze’s preference for soft meat, but is glad Lawyer Nweze did not return with a white woman – or the goddess Oboshi “would have sent leprosy on her!” (p. 16). 
• Adah is amused at Oboshi’s silence when “oil was discovered very near her, and she allowed the [white] oilmen to dig into her, without cursing them with leprosy” (p. 17)
• After Lawyer Nweze’s return, Adah realises that she has a dream to travel to the UK just like Lawyer Nweze. She kept her dream secret because as the female child of a retired railroad worker and a housewife who only reads the Bible and the Anglican hymnal, everyone would think she was crazy. Nevertheless, Adah’s inspiration lives with her “like a Presence” (p. 17).

Possible Questions

1. Why does Adah not know her exact age? A.She was born during a war B. Her family did not believe in keeping records. C. Her family never recorded her birth date D. Her birth date was lost in a fire.

   

   

   

2. What significant event triggers Adah’s dream of travelling to the UK? A. Her visit to school for the first time. B. The return of Lawyer Nweze from the UK C. Her father’s encouragement to study D. Listening to her mother talk about the UK

3. What does the nickname “Nnenna” given to Adah by her father mean? A. daughter of a king b. Father’s favourite c. Father’s mother d. Beloved child

4. Why does Adah’s Ma initially refuse to send Adah to school? A. Girls do not have to go to school B. The family cannot afford the feesC. Adah is not old enough D. there are no girls’ schools

   

   

   

5. What is Pa’s reaction when Adah begins attending school? A. He forbids her from attending school B. He ignores her actions C. He flogs her and later talks to her as if she is grown up D. he praises her for her determination

6. Why are Ibuza adults reluctant to live in Lagos? A They find agos too crowded and noisy B. They believe Lagos laws restrict their freedom C. They cannot practice their traditional customs there D. They fear modernisation in Lagos. 

7. What does Adah find ironic about the goddess Oboshi? A. Her silence about Lawyer Nweze’s achievements B.  Her inability to protect her people. C. Her supposed power over women’s fate D. Her acceptance of oilmen digging near her

ANSWERS: 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. C 6. B 7. D

Theory Questions

1. Describe the circumstances that led to Adah’s first experience of attending school.

2. Explain the significance of Lawyer Nweze’s return to the Ibuza community.